Marine Conservation Cambodia- What an amazing experience!

Traveling alone for the first time to a foreign country can be daunting for some. That was certainly the case with me until I arrived at the Oceanarium at Kep Pier which is too run by Marine Conservation Cambodia. I was met by Paul Ferber and ,the founder of MCC, and his amazing family and I was instantly made feel welcome and at ease. He filled me in about the on-going projects and about my soon to be home for the next three months. With that concluded we made the hour long boat journey to the secluded island of Koh Seh. Upon arrival I was made feel welcome by all- volunteers and staff alike- given a tour of our island, inhabited only by the MCC team and a fisheries police station, and then showed to my bungalow which was shared with another volunteer. Basic? Very, but I soon adjusted to the limited electricity and the bucket showers and it very quickly became my home, one I would hate to leave when the time came.

My first few weeks were split between completing my dive qualifications, snorkeling and Reef Check Survey training which allowed me to to partake in surveys and the monitoring of the well-being of the reefs around Keps' archipelago. I was taught how to correctly identify fish, invertebrates and substrate which allowed me plenty of time in the water to put my ID skills to practice. Once my training was completed along with my dive certifications I participated in Reef Check surveys on numerous reefs and with in a short period of time I could already see a visible improvement upon the reefs due to the decreased amount of illegal fishing in the area which the MCC patrol team works very hard to achieve. After a while the volunteers were also trained to partake in seahorse surveys which involved learning to ID seahorse species in the area, how to take measurements and record the data found on the seahorse to allow the monitoring of populations sizes and distributions. Besides diving and surveys, there were many land-based activities on the to do when the weather wasn't suitable for being in the water such as beach clean-ups, building anti-trawling devices, report writing and data entries.

Even with loads of work to do during the day there was still plenty of time to spend as you pleased during the evening. Playing volleyball, watching films, playing cards and night swims amongst the breathtakingly beautiful bioluminescence were just a few of the many ways to spend your evenings. Every second week or so we got the day off for the 'Island Swim', a swim to a neighboring island for a picnic lunch which was followed by a fun dive. Fridays were commenced with an early boat ride back to the main land to participate in interviews with local fishermen from small scale fishing villages to uncover the impact that illegal fishing was having on their livelihoods. This was always a humbling experience and it made us aware at how truly devastating illegal fishing can be and how imperative it was to try prevent it.

Working with MCC was an experience that I will forever be grateful to have had. For my whole three months I felt that my contribution was truly appreciated, that my efforts were helping to make a difference and contributing to the conservation of the oceans. I met so many amazing people who made feel like part of a team-of a family- and that was inarguable what made my experience so memorable. This is truly one organisation doing what they do for the right reasons and do it with so much passion. If you are looking to have one great time while contributing to a great cause I would recommend MCC without a doubt.